I'm back again! So, after my final exams as a junior are done, I have about two months for my summer vacation before I become a senior. That's why I'm going to try and update as soon as possible, so I would be done with most of my stories.

Disclaimer, I do not own Uta no Prince-sama or any of the characters. And I also do not own the RPG game Aveyond. I only own my OCs and most parts of the plot.

Let the show begin!

Chapter V

"Haruka, wake up." I was shaken a bit too violently by my roommate, Tomo. When I had opened my eyes, I saw her worried face. "Thank God you are up!"

"Good mor—"

"No time for this! You are going to be late for your exam!" I was shocked. Without another word, I jumped out of my bed and rushed to get dressed, and then hurry out of my room. Master Ringo must be waiting for me somewhere. I just hope I was not too late. Lucky me, I was just in time. Master Ringo was talking to the Headmaster, with Master Ryuuya standing near them. With him was my companion, Haruka. She wore a silver knight's attire with black clothing beneath, and on her waist was a sword, tied to her belt. Her hair was held up too, and was a deep cut on her cheek. When Master Ringo noticed me, he smiled.

"Ah, Haruka! You are finally here. I was worried." He said. I blushed a little.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to be late." I said. The man just patted my head.

"It's okay, I'm not angry at you. You were just in time. Ryuuya and I were just talking about you."

"Eh?"

"That's right." The headmaster spoke. "Your trials are special." Then he glanced at Haruka.

"Your friend here has a wound, and none of our healers could heal it. Even the most experienced healers failed." Master Ryuuya explained. "You are the only one that was able to heal her." He said. I recalled that time back at Holan, when Haruka was injured, and I accidentally healed her. Could it be that they—

"We want you to heal her again, and if you do, you will be titled as an apprentice." The headmaster said.

"B-but that was an accident! I—I don't know how I did it." I said in panic. I was sure that I was going to fail. Master Ringo looked at me worriedly before giving me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Haruka… You will pass this test."

"But—"

"Just believe in yourself. Come on." He pushed me towards Haruka, who was still standing there, listening to our conversation quietly. I took a deep breath and relaxed. I was going to do it. Not for the test, but for my friend. She looked at me with her emotionless, crimson eyes, though she looked to be in pain. Was it the wound? Or something else? I couldn't put my fingers on it. Haruka was good at hiding such little details. I gently put my hand to her wound, causing her to flinch and pull back, hissing in pain.

"Haruka… Don't—"I took a step forward, but she hissed again and backed away, eyeing me carefully. She looked…scared… like I was a threat to her. Master Ryuuya whispered something to the headmaster, and the man nodded, then turned to me.

"It looks things are not easy, Miss Nanami. We can just carry on with the traditional trials." He said. I glanced at Haruka and shook my head.

"No. I want to do this." Then I turned around, facing the black-haired girl. "I want to help her…" I walked towards her slowly, and strangely, she did not move away. Instead, she crouched to the floor and kept looking at me with those crimson eyes of hers. I walked even closer and knelt down beside her, putting my hand on her injured cheek again. I was not sure it was going to work, but I gave it a try. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best. To my surprise, I felt energy course through my whole body. My hand grew warmer, and felt lighter. I opened my eyes and was surprised to see my hand glowing in a greenish white light. Haruka was looking at me in utter shock, as did the three men. I pulled my hand away from Haruka, only to see that the wound has disappeared.

"How…?" she muttered. "How did you do this…?" I shook my head, still shocked.

"I don't know…I—"

"Haruka! You are really special!" Master Ringo exclaimed as he hugged me tight. "You healed her! No one was able to do it! I told you she was different." I was half-happy, half-doubtful of that statement. I wondered if me being different is good or bad. But I was relieved by the fact I was able to be of some help to my friend. But was this really enough for me to pass the trials?

"Miss Nanami…" The Headmaster began. "You have now claimed the title of the apprentice." He said. "But as you are a special healer, you will be trained by Master Ringo." I was surprised. I would be trained by Master Ringo himself; one of the greatest healers amongst the isles.

"A—are you—"

"Uwaah! Haruka! You will be my very special student! I'm so happy!" Master Ringo hugged me again. I blushed lightly and smiled.

"Thank you." I said. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Haruka talking to Master Ryuuya. She didn't look happy, while he seemed to be trying to warn her of something, as suggested his expression, whispering something to her. She nodded and turned back to me.

"Nanami. I heard you wanted to go into the Sword Magic dorms. I will be your guide." She said. I smiled.

"Sure. We can go now?"

"Yes." She said. I walked by her side after saying goodbye to the three teachers. We passed by the reception room, where we—or I—got a pass that said we had permission to go to the other dormitories from Leon. He handed me the paper and gave me some directions, on where I should not go, and things like that, then Haruka and I left. She opened the door. It led to a narrow hallway like the other one did, and in the end was a door.

Behind that door was a totally different world. Not many people were wandering around like in my dorm. I could hear the sounds of swords clashing together, as well as the shouts and yells of knights. The décor consisted of white, gold and royal blue, giving the viewer a very special feeling of elegance. I looked around in awe, unable to take my eyes off. It was only when I bumped into Haruka's back that I realized she stopped. We were standing in front of a huge wooden door.

"Here is where me and my comrades train." She said, opening the door. The walls of the rood had different kinds of swords, lances, spears, and basically every kind of weapon that could be wielded. There were a couple of people—all men—training is side the room, taking turns in sparring with each other. Haruka led me in, and when she walked in, the fighting stopped.

"Ah, Haruka. You are back!" one man said. He had red hair, matching eyes and wore a bright smile on his face. He was waving at Haruka happily, while his partner, a short boy with blond hair and blue eyes. They both approached us.

"You were gone for long. We were worried." The shorter boy said.

"Thank you for your concern, Syo." She replied. The other boy glanced at me.

"Is she a friend of yours?" he asked. Haruka—much to my surprise—nodded.

"Yes. Nanami Haruka is a student of magic, healing section." She said. The two 'ooooooh'ed at the same time, eyes sparkling.

"Wow! That's cool!" they both exclaimed. Soon, I was surrounded by other students, who asked me all kinds of questions. They all seemed concerned about Haruka too, and I could tell she was happy with it. I spent some time watching Haruka and the red haired boy—called Otoya—have a match together. Master Ryuuya arrived soon, and I watched their training. By far, the top of the class were Haruka and another student. He was a tall, good-looking young man with dark navy blue hair and charming dark eyes. I later learned his name was Tokiya Ichinose. He and Haruka seemed to be on good terms.

Another student called Masato met me too. He is a polite young man with a calm attitude, most similar to Haruka. The two seemed to be best of friends, as he and Haruka spent most time together. Otoya and Syo were the most active persons I met that day. They were both energetic and motivated, and they looked up to Haruka and Tokiya as their role models. Masato later told me that Haruka and Tokiya are students of a higher class, and they have almost completed their apprentice course.

"They only need to do a deed of great importance* to earn the title of 'Sword Masters'" Otoya explained. "It's really wonderful to watch them practice."

"Yeah! I train hard every day to pass the trials." Syo said, but frowned. "But whenever it's my turn, I go up against Haruka or Master Ryuuya… Just perfect." Haruka, who was sitting with us, chuckled lightly.

"Don't worry, Syo… I offered to have you train with me, but you did not agree." She said.

"I want to achieve that on my own! That's how a fighter is!" he replied. Otoya and I laughed, while Haruka just shrugged.

"Oh well, it's your choice anyway. I—"then someone called Haruka. It was Tokiya. "Excuse me, everyone. I have to go now." She said, getting up and leaving with the dark haired student. Now I was there, with Syo, Masato and Otoya.

"Nanami." Masato began, attracting my attention. "How is studying magic like?"

"Eh? You guys don't—"

"No. Only Haruka, Tokiya and Natsuki study sword magic." Otoya said, referring to another student I did not know. "Master Ryuuya said they had that gift… Man, I wish I was able to study sword magic too."

"I see…" I smiled. "Studying magic is pretty hard. But it's fun. I want to become a healer so that I can help people…"

"Uwaah! That's a really noble aim!" Otoya exclaimed. "I want to travel to Vala, and become one of the Royal Knights. I want to protect people."

"Me too!" Syo chimed in. "After all my training is done, I will travel back to Vala. I really miss my family."

"Family?" I asked.

"Yes. Before I came here, I lived with my twin brother. He wanted to study medicine, while I wanted to become a knight. And so, here I am." He explained with a laugh. Masato spoke up next.

"I was sent here by the orders of my father. He thinks that becoming a knight will do well to the reputation of out Trading Business…" I had heard before of the Hijirikawa Trading Business. My former mistress used to talk about it. They were one of the noblest families in known amongst the isles, and they owned the largest Trading Business in the world.

"I think—"

"Nanami." I heard a voice call me. I turned around to see Leon smiling at me sweetly. "Your time is up, dear. You have to go back to your dorms now." He said. I blushed a little and nodded, turning back to the three students.

"I'm sorry. I have to go back now." I said.

"It's fine. It was fun having you around, Nanami." Otoya exclaimed.

"Yeah, you should come here again." Syo added. I nodded and bid them goodbye, the Leon lead me back to the entrance of my dormitories. Midway, he said he had to do something important to do. He asked me if I would be able to go back on my own, and I nodded. Leon left, and I kept on walking. As I neared the door of my dorms, I heard faint voices in a distance. It sounded like people were fighting. I followed the sound, and it led me outside. The voices became clearer. One was Haruka's voice, another was one I did not know. The third voice was very familiar. A voice I was so used to, and one I detested. I hid behind a column and peeked at the scene before me. There were three male students, Haruka backing against the wall, and in front of her was…Eiichi?!

Phew, all done. It has been a long while, indeed. But exams are over, so this is good. Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be coming up soon.

I'm planning for some pairings coming up soon too. Wish me luck on romance. I'll leave them as a surprise. (One of them will be hinted next chapter. It will be really obvious, though.)

KuraiHaru17